


Death or Home

by MoonyBeasty



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime)
Genre: As of feb 2020 I swear I'll finish this in spring, Gen, Moomintroll is spooked too bad, Poisoning, Sickfic, Snuffy boy had a hard winter, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has a Tail, Starvation, but he hides it, maybe subtle snufmin, not sure, thanks to everyone on tumblr who encouraged me to write this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-01 05:32:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18793996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonyBeasty/pseuds/MoonyBeasty
Summary: The winter had been harsh and unforgiving. On his trek back to Moomin Valley, Snufkin has grown tired and weak from hunger. Any predators that may lurk in the wilderness have eaten most prey, the fish won’t bite, and it’s far too early in the year to hope for fruit.He’s been living off roots and needles, but it’s not enough for him. Finally he finds a small patch of possibly poisonous mushrooms, and Snufkin decides to risk being poisoned rather than starve to death just before he reaches the valley. Snufkin arrives, but he does not play his harmonica, he is shaky and slow, and all goes black as he watches Moomin peek out his window.In other words- Snufkin hungry. He eat bad thing. He sick. Moomin scared and worried for friend. Snufkin has to sleep indoors for once. Lots spook. Lots fluff.





	1. Starvation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our poor boy has to decide to either starve, or possibly be poisoned.

 

Snufkin hugged his stomach, feeling dizzy. He leaned against a nearby tree, and soon slid down its trunk till he met the ground. He desperately pressed his arms onto his belly as hard as he could, hoping to snuff out the pain, while it grumbled, gurgled, and bubbled in protest.

  
“Please, stop, _shut up_ ,” He weakly pleaded, tears threatening to prick at his eyes, “There’s nothing to eat here, not until we get to Moomin Valley.”

  
Snufkin looked up and over the mountains smaller than the one he was on now. He could see Lonely Mountain from here, although far in the distance. This was Snufkin’s usual route back to Moomin Valley. From here the trek would take one or two days normally, maybe even three days, depending on the weather. But now it may take a few days longer, thanks to Snufkin having to spend much more time looking for food, the season having sucked the land dry of most life. All that was left was bones, dead plants, and trees.

  
This winter had been harsh and unforgiving. Any predators that may have lurked in the wilderness had eaten most prey, the fish just won’t bite, and it’s far too early in the year to hope for fruit.

 

Snufkin couldn’t remember the last time he had a proper meal, he’s been eating nothing but pine needles and roots with snow. And of course, that was never enough to satisfy his hunger. He needed to eat meat. Maybe it was because he had grown dependant on fish, or it’s the fact that whatever creature he is, is mainly carnivorous. He’s found that whenever he chooses to eat something other than meat or bugs for an extended amount of time, he’d get sick. Anyway, he’s too used to eating fish and stew every day. And besides, who on Earth would enjoy eating nothing but tough and tasteless needles and roots for over a month?

 

He leaned over to a pile of snow, reaching for a handful of it. Maybe he could silence his stomach long enough to focus on his journey. But, he stops. A patch of mushrooms was growing between the snow and the tree! He immediately reached for them instead, not bothering to wonder how they would be growing in this weather. Then he realizes that these mushrooms are unfamiliar, and stops himself.

 

One should _never, ever_ eat a mushroom they don’t recognize, for fear that it might be poisonous.

 

He sadly draws his hand away.

 

Perhaps it would be best not to eat them.

 

A wave of nausea and confusion washes over Snufkin, forcing him to sit back and hold himself together. His stomach jabs knives and thorns into itself and his mind fogs over, preventing him from forming any solid thought for quite some time. Once he shakes himself back to reality, he realizes how weak and tired he is.

 

Snufkin groans, wishing he could ignore his excruciating hunger, wishing to have already made it home.

 

Home.

 

That’s where his friends are. Moomintroll, Papa, Mama, Snorkmaiden, Little My, Sniff. They’re all waiting for him. They expect to hear his yearly springtime tune when they wake up. He’s probably already late. They might be worrying over wherever he might be, and why.

 

He looks down at himself. He’s lost too much weight. He’s not sure if he even has any fat at all on him, he has to eat soon or else-

  
Fear curls cold around his heart and creeps up his spine. He might not make it.

 

His mind drifts blank.

 

He moves to crouch in front of the possibly deadly fungus.

 

He might die if he eats these.

 

He might die if he doesn’t eat them.

 

He might die either way.

 

Or…

 

The mushrooms might not be poisonous at all.

 

He might live.

 

He feels sick and numb.

 

He reaches for the mushrooms.

 

o -----------o-O-o----------- o

 

Snufkin watches the snow melt into water, then bubble and boil. He moves the pot from the fire and dunks the mushrooms into the water, rubbing the dirt and filth off of them, then moves them to a rack over the fire so he can roast them.

 

While he waits for those to cook, he washes some pine needles and roots. Yes, he had grown absolutely sick of these, but just in case the mushrooms weren’t enough, he decided to add these to the meal. And if they were poisonous, he hoped the extra ingredients would dampen the effect of the poison.

 

He’s staring into and beyond the fire when his mind runs short of thought and function, until he hears a sizzling sound.

 

He glances up at the smoking food.

 

Oh. That’s where it’s coming from.

 

Oh. It’s burning.

 

_Oh that’s not good!_

 

Snufkin turns the mushrooms over, revealing the black scorch marks. Oh well, at least they didn’t catch fire and turn into ash. He could just scrape most of the burns off.

 

Once he’s sure they’re evenly cooked, he piles it all onto a plate, and eagerly yet reluctantly eats the biggest meal he’s had in weeks. The crunching of needles and roots is uncomfortable, but he’s mostly used to it by now. And the soft squish of the mushrooms is pleasantly new, although ruined by the crunch of the burns.

 

Oh how he wished and prayed this would give him strength enough to make it back home to Moomin Valley.

 

o -----------o-O-o----------- o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very surprised with how fast and well I wrote this chapter! Especially since this is the first fanfic I'm uploading. It's been so long since I wrote creatively like this.  
> I hope you all enjoy it! You have more to look forward to if you do, let's hope I can write another chapter within a day again. If not, then no more than a week.  
> Now back to making snuffy boy suffer... >:3 Then maybe getting better and happier. and hopefully I can figure out how to write longer chapters.


	2. Poisoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snufkin realizes something is horribly wrong.

Oh this was a mistake. Such a big, big mistake. Probably the worst mistake of Snufkin’s life, which now feels far too short.

 

Snufkin always believed that he was not afraid of his own death. If his death were to come, he’d accept it peacefully. Of course, if he could avoid it, he would, because he’d very much rather be alive. And if he were to die… His friends would miss him. And Moomintroll would be devastated- he’d-

 

He didn’t want to die. He realizes that now, when the presence Death makes his stomach boil, when it breathes down his neck and grips tight on his shoulders, when he’s less than an hour away from Moominhouse.   


 

He’s so,  _ so _ , close. He just has to hang on tight till he gets there. He must not succumb to the darkness of eternal sleep.    


 

His vision warps and darkens, his head feels heavy and light at the same time, his limbs are numb and stiff, his stomach is burning like hellfire, the heat rising up to his head and making him feel as though a dragon had just huffed in his face.   


 

“H..How- How am I going to…” He pants, barely able to get the words out.

 

“How am I…” He finishes in thought,  _ ‘Going to make it?’ _

 

The past few days felt like weeks. Either he’s suffering the effects of poisoning, illness, starvation, or suffering from it all. Whatever is oh so wrong with him, it’s not good, and is making his journey far slower than it would have been had he been healthy. Maybe he really would have been better off not eating those cursed mushrooms.

 

Snufkin forces his gaze up to see where he is on the trail. He sighs a heavy sigh that hurts his throat. He’s so close yet so far. What if he collapses here? It might take hours or even over a day before someone to find him, and by then he might have been drained of all his warmth.

 

A root snags on his boot and he stumbles, his heart lurching up into his throat and he is unable to catch himself as he falls flat onto his face.   


 

How ironic.

 

He fights his exhaustion, and pulls his arms out from under him until he is on his hands and knees, head hanging low as his hot blood sinks into his face.

 

_ He must. Not. Give. Up. _

 

Snufkin thinks of Moomintroll, waiting on that familiar bridge. Of Moomintroll’s joyous expression when he sees him. Of the songs of the birds in the trees as they celebrate the arrival of Spring. Of the welcoming buzz of bees among the flowers. Of the warmth of tea in his hands, of the chill of the night air, of the shouts of joy, of the shifting of ocean waves, of everything that is Moomin Valley.

 

He shakily stands up, stumbling still. But he’s up. He can walk. He has to, or else he’d never see the soft round face of his best friend, or hear the sweet sugary voice that calls his name. If Snufkin is to die this day, it must wait until then.  _ It has to. _

 

o -----------o-O-o----------- o

 

There it is. Moominhouse. It’s  _ right _ there! So close, he’s so so so close.

 

His gaze drifts down. He can barely stand upright.   


 

He slips his hand into his pocket, but feels nothing for how numb he’s feeling. It’s not just his hands and limbs now, the pain in his stomach is gone, and he can’t feel his face.

 

He loosely pulls out his harmonica, as he has always done every spring before now.

 

How were you supposed to hold a harmonica again? And how did he blow into it before? It’s funny, he has played countless songs on this instrument, yet cannot even begin to comprehend the concept of bringing it up to his mouth.

 

Something bashes against his skull, his entire body. He realizes his eyes are closed, and opens them. Wood. He’s on the bridge. He’s home.

 

Snufkin rolls his eyes upward, toward the top window of the cylinder house, which now reminds him of something he uses to cook soup in, whatever that was. Moomintroll is there, hanging halfway out the window. Is he smiling? No, he’s not. He’s frowning. Why? Is Moomintroll mad at Snufkin for being so late? For returning at all?

 

All goes black.

 

That’s reasonable. Moomintroll is never happy when he’s late. Oh well. At least he’s here now, and got to see his best friend for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes. Here it is. Chapter 2. Full of agonizing pain and suffering. This was shorter than I wanted it to be, but lucky for us all, Chapter 3 will be much longer! That is, if I manage to stuff everything that I want to happen in there.


	3. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snufkin is taken care of.

Moomintroll crossed his arms on his windowsill as he peered out his window at the darkening valley all around him, watching as the sky turned from bright blue and white, to a soft rainbow of colors with gold and orange and pink and purple.

 

He sighs, wishing dearly that his best friend was here to see the beauty of it all. Spring had begun to burst into full bloom now, but it didn’t feel like it. It never felt like spring, not until Snufkin arrived. Ever since Snufkin started coming to Moomin Valley, spring would never be complete without him. Moomintroll wasn’t entirely sure  _ why _ that was, though. Maybe it was because each year, ever since he met the mumrik, he would wake up from hibernation to the melody of Snufkin’s harmonica. Or maybe it was because of how refreshed and happy Snufkin looked in the spring, which spread happiness to everyone he met. Or maybe it was just simply because Moomin liked him. Even as to why he liked Snufkin, he wasn’t sure. Not that it matters, his presence always pleased him greatly, so why bother questioning it?

 

But, Snufkin wasn’t here yet. And it’s been well over a week by now. He should have returned several days ago, we was never gone for much longer than a week, but now it’s almost two weeks. Where is he?

 

Moomintroll sighed once again, for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

 

He shifts his gaze to his right, toward the bridge and the forest beyond, hoping to finally find Snufkin there, even though he knows he probably would be there- Wait.

 

Moomintroll props himself up and leans out the window until he’s nearly falling out, squinting his eyes in the darkness of dusk, and he realizes, that right there on the bridge, is Snufkin!

 

A great big smile splits his face, and he feels his heart leap with joy, just as he then also realizes that something is wrong. Moomintroll should have heard his music before seeing him.

 

Then he sees Snufkin’s knees buckle as he falls hard and flat onto the bridge, the thud audible even between such a distance.

 

Moomintroll gasps and his smile twists upside-down. “ _ Snufkin! _ ”

 

He whips around to climb down his rope ladder, nearly slipping down multiple times in his haste, and he almost fails to catch himself when he runs down the porch roof, and jumps away the second he is close enough to the ground.

 

With all the strength he has in his legs, Moomintroll bolts to Snufkin’s aid.

 

Panting from the panicked excursion, he put a paw on his friend’s shoulder -which felt uncomfortably stiff and bony- and shook him gently. “Snufkin! Are you alright? Please, get up, what’s wrong?”

Snufkin’s breath came out in uneven, shuddering, shallow breaths, a look of weak discomfort strewn about his face.

 

Moomintroll’s brow creased in worry. He pressed the back of his other paw to Snufkin’s forehead, gasping and pulling away when he felt how  _ hot _ he was. The fever was so hot it felt like he had just touched a black stone that had been sitting in the sun for an hour.

 

It is now when he notices how horribly gaunt and pale Snufkin was.

 

How long had he been living like this?

 

Moomintroll swallowed the unpleasant thought and rose to his feet, moving to the side to bend down and bring Snufkin into his arms as gently as possible, afraid to harm him any further.

 

He felt his face drain of blood, and a rock drop in his stomach. He was absolutely certain that Snufkin shouldn’t be this light, it hardly took any effort at all to pick him up- and dear sweet stars and beyond was he always this thin and bony?

 

As careful and swift as he could possibly be, Moomintroll ran back to the house, with a thin and frail Snufkin in his arms of opposite description.

 

o -----------o-O-o----------- o

 

Although with a bit of a struggle, Moomintroll managed to get in through the door.

 

“Mama! Snufkin’s here, but something’s wrong! Mama!” He called out, his eyes burning with tears as the reality of the situation began to dawn upon him.

 

“What?” Moominmama appeared, coming in from tidying up the kitchen, “Oh my!”

 

She hurried over to them, as Moomintroll laid the still unconscious Snufkin down on the couch. She pressed her paw to his forehead just as her son had done, “Oh dear, he’s burning up! And he’s so  _ thin _ .”

 

Mama turned to Moomintroll, “Dear, please carry him up to the guest room right away, I’ll get a rag and a bowl of cold water ready, and some milk too, in case he wakes up. It looks like he certainly needs it.”

 

Moomintroll nodded eagerly, and proceeded to do as he was told. And once more, he was surprised with his friend’s weight, which he assumed would be harder going up the stairs, but the walk up barely made any difference.

 

He laid the poor mumrik down on the bed, and pulled his hat, boots, and backpack off to grant him better comfort, then pulled a chair over to sit beside him.

 

Soon, both Mama and Papa came into the room.

 

“Oh no, poor Snufkin, he really does look horrible,” Moominpapa said worriedly, pressing a paw up to his chin, “Moomintroll, what happened to him?”

 

“I’m… Not sure. I was just watching the sunset from my window, and I looked over and saw him collapse on the bridge.”

 

“Poor thing looks as if he hasn’t eaten anything in weeks,” Moominmama murmured as she draped a soaked rag over his forehead. “Moomin dear, you did very good on bringing Snufkin in here, but you should really be getting to bed now.”   
  
“Aww but Mama-”

 

“I don’t want you getting sick too, in case if Snufkin is ill with something contagious.” She smiled at him, “Besides, you need your rest. You can rest well now that you know where Snufkin is. Don’t think I don’t hear you pacing in your room all night.”

 

Moomintroll clenched a fist in the covers of the bed before standing up, “Alright. Goodnight Mama, Papa.”

 

“Goodnight dear, don’t worry about Snufkin, he’ll be fine now.”

 

And with that, Moomintroll dragged his feet and tail up to his room, and spent the next hour lying in bed as he thinking about his friend, wondering what his winter had been like, and worrying if he really would be alright now.

  
_ ‘I hope we’re not too late to save him’ _ , he thought before fading into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took longer than I wanted it to. Oh well. At least I got around to writing a longer chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! I didn't read it over much though, I just wanted to get it out before I spend an entire week on it. (I'll reread all the chapters in the future, so I can fix any mistakes or inconsistencies.)
> 
> Also by the way! I have a Tumblr account, where I post my art and notify when I update my fanfics! This one currently being the only fanfic I'm writing. I also have a sideblog where I reblog everything I like, Moomins, Pokemon, Animals, etc.
> 
> Main blog - Moonybeasty  
> Reblog blog - Moonybeastynibbles


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